# so tell me about humidor temp and humidity



## curtis (Jan 23, 2011)

my humidor is running 72 degrees and 67 percent humidty. do I need to change it or let it ride. when you decrease temp do you add more water source or beads ? the humidor is topped out and holding 25 sticks.


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## dezyrme (Dec 23, 2010)

All about preference. If you like the way your sticks are smoking, leave it alone. If it is maintaining 67 with stock in it, your are fine. Temp is on the higher end so some may suggest freezing first...


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## piperman (Sep 8, 2005)

Temp is a funny thing, I live in AZ and there was no way to keep it at 70* and I never had or have a problem, but now I have an igloo wine cooler that is working like a charm.


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## wxmanray (Mar 16, 2011)

I think if you bring the temp down, the rh should go up on it's own. This is how atmosphere works, cooler air holds less water molecules, so your rh goes up as your temp lowers. I know it is a smaller controlled environment, so may not have much of an effect.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

As was said you want to keep your RH at a point where you like it...between 60 and 70%. Your temperature needs to be on the downside of 70...between 65 and 70. I've had my temps at a higher level before with no issues but you want to keep an eye on it in the summer and igloos are a solid piece of equipment you might want to invest in if temps cant be controlled.


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## ProgressNotes (Feb 24, 2011)

From my experience, lower temps are OK if the RH is still at a good level. For me, during the winter, the temp never got above the low 60s, generally. However, the RH held in the mid to upper 60s the whole time, and apparently that was what mattered. If it gets above 70 degrees in there, however, that's a completely different story....


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

KISS.......

Follow the 130 ish rule

65*/65RH
70*/ 60RH
60*/65RH
60*/70

*To keep it simpler*
Keep NC at 65 rh
Keep CC at 60 rh
Keep the temps under 70*


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

Excellent advice here. Just keep in mind that beetle larvae love the warmth. Over 70 degrees and the risk rises substantially.

If you can't keep your cigars under 70, have you considered freezing your cigars?


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## chasingstanley (Jan 24, 2011)

Never thought of this, if your having trouble keeping temps down during the warmer months I guess freezing would be ideal.


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## curtis (Jan 23, 2011)

so how do I ge the temp down...more water...or more beads..


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

curtis said:


> so how do I ge the temp down...more water...or more beads..


Shut the heat off or put on the AC...( sorry, it was to easy)

Beads and water have to do with RH


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## jimbo1 (Aug 18, 2010)

curtis said:


> so how do I ge the temp down...more water...or more beads..


water and beads has nothing to do w/ temp, you gonna need to get a wine cooler or find a cooler place to keep you humidor


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## Snagged (Aug 20, 2010)

Or you could just say screw the temperature, keep the RH at 60-70, and not worry about it like I do. I've never had beetle problems (although I do freeze new deliveries) and my cigars smoke just fine. Temperatures in my humidors run 65-82, depending on the season and whether I'm running the AC or not. 

In my opinion (and many will disagree), obsessing over temperature and trying to maintain your humidity at some ridiculously narrow set point (64.5%) are two of the best ways to really hinder your enjoyment of smoking cigars. You can't spend your whole life worrying whether the temperature in your humidor is 66.7 degrees...it's just not healthy. Besides, people have been successfully maintaining humidors for a LONG time without the benefit of temperature control. So if you have a setup that easily allows you to keep the temperature down a little, go for it. However, I wouldn't set my AC at 70 to keep my smokes cool. Don't make a huge problem out of something that isn't really that big of a deal.

Now this being said, my slacker attitude applies to your everyday coolidor/desktop humidor where you'll hold smokes for less than a year before you smoke them. If you are trying to age cigars or something more complicated, you'll have to be more concerned about temperature. For your average smoker, however, I don't think it's that big of a deal.

And all you temperature/humidity tyrants please note, I'm not trying to pick a fight here...simply stating an opinion.


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## lamontjb (Dec 11, 2010)

Snagged said:


> Temperatures in my humidors run 65-82


I think 82 degrees is risking tobacco beetle issues, and wouldn't recommend trading obsession away from proper storage to freezing all new cigars. I do agree though, obsessing about a 2 degree and/or percent variance is not healthy.


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## Snagged (Aug 20, 2010)

Like I said, just expressing an opinion and sharing my experience. And I think we're on the same page in believing that obsessing over fractions of a percent (or degree) is no way for a smoker to live his or her life. 

To clarify, I choose not to consider temperature as a controllable variable in my humidors because I don't have a fridgidor/actively cooled humidor. I have a few nice Spanish cedar-lined desktops and keep the bulk of my smokes in coolers with KL supplying humidity control. The coolers buffer temperature changes, but they're basically at the will of the ambient room temperature.

NOW, all that being said, I have never seen a tobacco beetle, even in the early summer when my humis are at 80 degrees before I give in and turn on the AC. The freezing takes care of any bug problems. Likewise, at 65% RH, my cigars burn the same at 82 degrees as they do at 65 degrees.

Again, in my opinion, freezing new cigars for a few days before introducing them to my humidors is simply good housekeeping...it's a quarantine and disinfecting that has no effect on the quality of my tobacco. There seems to be this idea floating around that freezing is bad and that somehow freezing a cigar will instantly make the moisture inside the tobacco vanish. It doesn't work that way. Freeze a loaf of bread for three days, then thaw it out on your counter. It's just as moist and delicious as it was the day it went in the freezer. And I've never found that has enough moisture in the tobacco to bust the wrapper. 

Also keep in mind that high humidor temperatures only speed up the hatching of beetle eggs...they'll still hatch at fairly low temperatures (like 65 degrees). If you have live beetle eggs, you'll have to keep temps really low to keep them from hatching. If you freeze, you'll kill the eggs and any live beetles. 

In any case, one of the great things about this hobby is that everyone finds something different about it that they love. And some people LOVE to fiddle with their cigars and humidors, and part of the enjoyment to them is maintaining an extremely stable environment in every way. I prefer to smoke my cigars and not bother them once they're in the box. The OP didn't seem to be in the obsessive environment crew...I just wanted to let him know that world wouldn't end if his humi got warm.


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## lamontjb (Dec 11, 2010)

Agreed, besides 72 temp and 67 humidity ait bad. Besides, I have 3 hydrometers (Credo, Xikar, and a MT-530) and they vary in humidity by +/- 4%.


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